'Resident Evil' may be due for a reboot after 'Revelations'

Capcom has hinted that it may seek to reboot the Resident Evil series.

When questioned by Eurogamer about the possibility of an open-world game as the series' next entry, Resident Evil: Revelations producer Masachika Kawata seemed to indicate a reboot may be in order.

"If we did [go with an open-world], we would want to preserve what Resident Evil is and what makes it appealing to fans, while also making it accessible to new players," Kawata said. "It would almost entail having a slight reboot to get the series into a place where it would work with open-world gameplay. That's just a personal opinion."

It should be noted that, in context, Kawata's comments say that a reboot might be needed to facilitate an open-world style game. The idea of an open-world game was brought up by Eurogamer, rather than one suggested by Kawata.

"If anyone is waiting for an open-world Resident Evil, I think it will certainly be quite a while," he added. "So in the meantime, I recommend giving Revelations a try."

Regarding the series' future, Resident Evil: Revelations could have a strong impact on how the next game unfolds.

"Once we see Revelations released on consoles, we'll be looking very carefully at how the title is received and what feedback we get," he said.

"I think we'll get a lot of input from the fanbase and the media on what it means for Resident Evil, and what it could mean for the future of the series. We'll definitely be looking at that as a signpost for where we need to be going next.

"Moving forward I can see us focusing even more on the horror aspect and fear in the series, and see us making something scarier than we have already."

Resident Evil: Revelations is an HD port of last year's 3DS game for consoles featuring improved visuals and enhanced lighting effects, as well as a new enemy type, extra difficulty level and improvements to the online Raid mode such as new weapons and Hunk as a playable character.

Resident Evil: Revelations will be available at retail on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC from May 21 in North America and May 24 in Europe.

A downloadable version will also be available the same day on PS3 and PC, with Xbox 360 and Wii U versions to follow.